Origin Francisco Gabriel Junqueira, Baron of Alfenas, began breeding his imported
Lusitano to the mares on his farm (primarily
Barbs, along with other breeds brought to Brazil when it was colonized). The result was a smooth-gaited, attractive horse which the baron called
Sublime. Junqueira sold some of the
Sublimes to a friend who had a farm in
Paty do Alferes,
Rio de Janeiro. The farm's name was
Mangalarga, and the owner rode
Sublimes to and from
Rio de Janeiro. In Rio, people noticed the smooth-gaited, attractive Sublimes and began calling them Mangalargas. Breeders and researchers note that until at least 1910, most ranchers involved in the breed's development (especially
Junqueira Family members) followed the baron's recommendations to fix the breed's marching gait, hardiness, endurance, health and temperament.
Breed split In 1934, the Mangalarga Breeders Association was created. Its founders wanted to establish a clear direction for breeding and define the breed's function and desired characteristics (particularly the intended gait). They had largely achieved objectives dating back to 1812–1816, when a number of breeders moved from
Minas Gerais (where the breed originated) to
São Paulo. They had introduced bloodlines from several non-
gaited horse breeds, including the (
Arabian,
Anglo-Arabian,
Thoroughbred, Lusitano and the
American Saddlebred. These crosses were intended to adapt the Mangalarga to the local topography, with a minimal loss of gait smoothness. This blood remains in only a few female lines of the Mangalarga Marchador. Friction developed between those who wanted to maintain the breed's original objectives and those defending the new type. The Mangalarga Breeders Association
closed its stud book in 1943, nine years after its foundation. A group of breeders who disagreed with this decision met in 1948 and founded the
Association Mangalarga Marchador, which became the
ABCCMM. Although separate breed organizations exist for the
Mangalarga and the Mangalarga Marchador and the breeds have different bloodlines and
conformation, their roots are similar. To unite differing factions and create a new stud book, the breeders turned to Geraldo Carneiro. Carneiro, a veterinarian and zoologist, was a friend and neighbor of the governor of Minas Gerais and future Brazilian president
Juscelino Kubitschek and helped found a new breed association to preserve the original Marchador horse. The breeders met in
Caxambu (where a Mangalarga Marchador museum is located); In North America, the Mangalarga Marchador breed association is the USMMA, a nucleo of the ABCCMM. The Mangalarga Marchador breed exists internationally, with horses found in many countries. Europe and the United States have the most numbers outside of its native country, Brazil. == Characteristics ==